Tasmanian Place Branding boss speaks at conference

As CEO of Australia’s first statutory place branding authority, Todd Babiak knows a thing or two about the subject, and he’ll be sharing some of that knowledge at the Place Branding Australia conference in Sydney.

Speaking at the conference in June, Babiak will present Tasmania as a case study in place branding, outlining how the strategy has helped the state respond to challenges and opportunities in tourism, trade, investment and attracting talent, as well as fostering a sense of identity and social cohesion, in the six years since Brand Tasmania was founded.

“What we’ve tried to do in Tasmania, rather than downloading things that have worked elsewhere, is deeply understand Tasmanian culture and use that to drive economic growth, so we’ve been a bit of a social laboratory for solving problems,” he says. told Government news.

“At the heart of this are questions like: how can something be uniquely Tasmanian? How can we make Tasmanian culture a force?”

Babiak and other place branding leaders from Australia and abroad will explore what place branding is, and provide practical examples of how place makers and local authorities can make it work for them at Place Branding Australia 2024, which will take place during Vivid Sydney Festival on June 12-13.

View the full program here.

Reimagining tourism

Brand Tasmania has worked with most of Tasmania’s municipalities, as well as the Local Government Association of Tasmania, to develop unique and highly effective branding programs.

Recently, the country partnered with Flinders Island, the largest island in the Furneaux group in Bass Strait, to develop a regenerative strategy aimed at combating growing negativity and fear about tourism.

Brand Tasmania worked with the council and local community to come up with a brand story called The Islanders Road aimed at redefining tourism on the island so that it delivers benefits to the community, the environment and the economy.

“It’s their title, it’s their story,” Babiak says.

“It has been funded and they are now working with a group called Furneaux Collective, who are implementing projects that are going to add real value to Flinders Island.

Attract talent

Place branding is also used to attract talent and fill labor shortages.

“A key benefit of having the Tasmania brand is joining forces, so when we go to market with a tourism strategy it also acts as a student attraction strategy and a workforce attraction strategy,” he says.

“When we go to London, Japan or Shanghai with Tasmanian products to sell to the world. It’s all one story. It’s all one brand.”

A major focus was attracting healthcare professionals, Babiak says.

“The entire healthcare sector is in trouble all over the world. Everyone fights for doctors, everyone fights for nurses. Everyone is fighting for physiotherapists and pharmacists,” he says.

We know that if you just put out ads that look like everyone else’s ads, just with a different government logo, you’re going to have a hard time.

Todd Babiak

“And we know that if you just put out ads that look like everyone else’s ads, just with a different government logo, you’re going to have a hard time.

Place branding uses a backdoor approach to attracting talent.

“We’ve done a lot of research and interviews and it suggests that if you come to Tasmania, it’s not for the job, it’s not for the money. It is for a more meaningful life.

“So what we’ve tried to do is put lifestyle and culture at the forefront and appeal to an audience that we call ambitious introverts who love nature.

“What we’ve tried to do has brought that to the forefront, and then by the way you can say you can have a great career here as well. “

Tackling social issues

The strategy can also address social issues, such as the state’s multigenerational literacy problem, Mr. Babiak said.

“As a Place Brand organisation, you can ignore wider social issues and only talk about the great qualities of Tasmania, or you can try to use the Tasmanian brand, the essence of Tasmanian culture, to solve them,” he says.

“Tasmania has a literacy problem that we have never been able to solve, despite all the experts you can imagine coming here and trying to solve it. We are trying to solve it in a Tasmanian way.”

It’s an example of how you can take complex social problems and use a brand’s deep understanding of culture to solve those problems.

Todd Babiak

Join the award-winning Little Tasmanians campaign, which aims to bring the Tasmanian story into the lives of new Tasmanians in their early years, and connect parents and caregivers with Tasmania-relevant information about the first 1000 days.

“Every family that has a new baby receives a bag containing a baby book called Little Tasmanians, about four people who overcame adversity to make their dreams come true here.

‘You’ll also get a library card, a Tasmanian onesie and lots of fridge magnets highlighting the milestone for the first 1000 days of each baby’s life.

“So we’ve tried to bring the story of Tasmania, the Tasmanian brand, into the lives of our ordinary families. It’s an example of how you can take complex social problems and use a brand’s deep understanding of culture to solve those problems.”

A workshop on climate action

Babiak says Tasmania’s history of environmental action, green politics and achieving net zero emissions is at the heart of the Powered by Tasmania campaign, which is designed to attract visitors, students, investors, trade, researchers and partners in renewable projects.

While the rest of the world cleans their networks, we can say: come to Tasmania and truly see this place as a workshop for climate action.

Todd Babiak

“That’s really attractive for companies and for investors, knowing that we are self-sufficient in renewable electricity,” he says.

“While the rest of the world cleans their networks, we can say: come to Tasmania and really see this place as a workshop for climate action.

“For example, it identifies the Hydro story, which has led to Tasmania being self-sufficient in renewable electricity, Tasmania has net zero, Tasmania has protected more than half of its land from development, so we have achieved the goals of the UN in the field of sustainability and biodiversity has already been achieved. . No other place in the world really has that.”

Place Branding Australia 2024 runs June 12-13. Tickets are available here.

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